spirituality

Ah! Sweet retreat! I've just returned from 10 days out West and I'm feeling the expansiveness in my body, in my spirit, in my mind! I co-facilitated a one day retreat in NM and then attended a 6 day retreat in CO. I suspect I'll be writing in the coming weeks about some of my a-has and inspirations on my sojourn out west. But for now I want to encourage you, wherever you are, to take yourself on retreat ASAP!

My joyful co-facilitator, playpal, soul sister and dear friend Licia Berry and I recorded our second radio show 5 Elements for a Kick Butt Getaway! on The Celebration Station on Blog Talk Radio.  We did this after facilitating our retreat at Ghost Ranch and then experiencing the magic of the Echo Ampitheatre in Northern New Mexico (photo above). If you have 30 min to listen, click here and enjoy!

Or if you just want the quick skinny so you can start planning right away, here are the 5 key elements for retreat we highlight in our show:

1. Determine your purpose – why are you going? What do you need? To rest? To be in nature? To be alone? To connect with others? What are you craving?
2. Choose a great location – it can be your backyard, a local park, the beach or half way across the country. Make sure it’s a place that feels really good to you and will nourish you for a few hours or a few days.
3. Make it a multisensory experience – have yummy food, beautiful scenery, great music – or listen to the birds. Be aware of all your senses when experiencing retreat.
4. Create sacred space – create a little altar – something to mark the occasion. It can be with a candle or a rock or a pile of leaves – it doesn’t need to be fancy – but something to mark that this is sacred time and space for you to retreat
5. Pick a retreat process – retreats are more meaningful if you have a process to focus your energy – it can be journaling, hiking, collaging, focused conversation, walking a labyrinth. Something to focus your attention so your mind’s not wandering all over the place.

What is your favorite place to take yourself on retreat? Or where would you like to go on retreat? I invite you to comment below...

Neale Donald Walsch's Home with God ~ In a Life That Never Ends literally sprouted legs and packed itself in my suitcase a few weeks ago for a weekend trip. Eric & I have been dealing with grief and loss the past few months with the death of a friend, the serious illness of a close family member and the transition from leaving our beloved Asheville to our new home in beautiful Tallahassee. It's all left me searching for answers to questions I didn't realize I had.

One of my best friends has been bugging me to read this book for two years now. I am finally ready to receive it. One of the primary messages I have received from this book is that if we can learn to accept death and not fear it, then we can fully embrace life.

I have done a lot of underlining and dog-earing this book but the "100 Word Formula for All of Life" is worthy of sharing here.

Hope is the doorway to belief, belief is the doorway to knowing, knowing is the doorway to creation, and creation is the doorway to experience.

Experience is the doorway to expression, expression is the doorway to becoming, becoming is the activity of all life and the only function of God.

What you hope, you will eventually believe, what you believe, you will eventually know, what you know, you will eventually create, what you create, you will eventually experience, what you experience, you will eventually express, what you express, you will eventually become.

This is the formula for all of life. It is as simple as that.

Thoughts? Comments? Was this as powerful for you as it was for me when I first read it? You can read more about Neale Donald Walsch and his work here.

The group was founded by Diana Kennedy, a ministerial assistant at Unity Church, a massage therapist and all around inspired woman! I'm delighted to finally meet this charismatic, high-energy lover of life. If she weren't moving, I'm sure this is someone with whom I would become good friends. But Diana has another calling - she's headed to the midwest to go to ministerial school and seems to be following her true path.

I can tell the Tallahassee community is sad to see her leave and yet she's created at least one experience that is sure to live on after she's gone. The Goddess Luncheon, which meets monthly, is for women who self-proclaim to be goddesses! People were festively dressed, Diana sprinkled us all with fairy dust and waved her magic wand and we all felt loved and supported.

The conversation was 100% positive and uplifting. Women talked about "creating our reality" and "leading with love and light". There was mention of The Secret, Abraham-Hicks, TUT and more! It's so refreshing to meet like-minded folks!

I will definitely be back and am thankful to have met so many inspired and inspiring women! Thank you, Tallahassee, for welcoming me with open arms. I feel like I am finding my tribe!

Intellectually, I know that making new friends takes time when you move to a new place. I've moved 8 times in 16 years. I've got experience. I know this in my brain.

But I was allowing myself to get caught up in the pity party and get dragged into the muck "Oh this is so hard. Oh I miss my friends. I feel so sad. I'm lonely. blah blah blah"

Well, I've been listening to Sonia Choquette's Trust Your Vibes CD set lately and I listened to a particularly powerful segment on Monday morning. She said when you want to shake things up and really set powerful intentions, start your day (and continue throughout the day as you're inspired) with stating the following:

I LOVE MY LIFE!

I EXPECT GREAT THINGS!

I WONDER WHAT WONDERFUL THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN FOR ME TODAY!

So, I decided to try it that day.

Within 48 hours, I was contacted by at least 4 different people saying "Hey, we heard you're new to town. Welcome!" and inviting me to various things - workshops, lunch, going for a walk, etc.

Now, I realize that I have been planting seeds for making connections for a few months now. But I don't think it's just coincidence that once I finally made up my mind that I was ready to receive, that the Universe rewarded me immediately.

Try it. Use Sonia's words. Watch and see what happens. And let me know about it...

You can view Shonnie's thoughtful blog entry here.

I like to think that I live my life with an "attitude of gratitude". Sometimes it's only for 5 minutes at the end of a day where I take time to count my blessings. Other times, it's several times throughout the day that I'll say a quick prayer of thanks to acknowledge I know that my life is really quite amazing (like on my recent trip to St. Thomas - more on that in a future blog!).

Shonnie asked "How has gratitude changed your life?" My responses are below:

1. Gratitude anchors me in the JOY and BLISS of being alive. Taking time to express gratitude allows me to celebrate the little moments that make life extraordinary. Enjoying a sunset, holding a hand, listening to classical music, smelling a rose, watching the first snow fall... these make life worth living!

2. Gratitude removes me from the DRAMA of being human. Stepping back from my ego-self allows me to live more fully in my spirit-self. From this place, there is no drama and only the unfolding of what is with no judgment and only love.

3. Gratitude helps me to SLOW DOWN. It's so easy to get caught up in "go, go, go" and "do, do, do" but taking time to acknowledge when you're grateful is a great time to stop and breathe deeply.

4. Gratitude helps me to be more INTENTIONAL with my choices. Whether it's spending my time, my energy or my dollars, being aware of where I'm grateful helps me make smart choices. For example, I'm so grateful to have found Namaste, my yoga studio here in Tallahassee, so I make it a point to go to yoga weekly.

Shonnie also asked "What most profoundly evokes your gratitude?" For me, it's...

- Spending quality time with loved ones (human and furry!)

- Travel and getting a new perspective on the world

- Lightbulb moments that my clients experience in a 1:1 coaching session, teleclass or workshop and knowing that I am of service in that moment

- News of my brother Bradley and knowing he's safe. He's a Marine and has been stationed in Iraq for almost a year now.

- Hiking in the woods or walking by the ocean on a sunny day

So, dear reader, how has gratitude changed your life? What most profoundly evokes your gratitude? I invite you to comment below.

"The food we eat, the thoughts we think and the words we speak create how we feel about ourselves now and in the future."

"The definition of enlightenment is being willing to look within and see ourselves without judgment."

Wise woman, eh?

I saw inspirational powerhouse speakers and authors Louise Hay, Caroline Myss, Doreen Virtue, Sonia Choquette, Colette Baron-Reid and Denise Linn. The overarching theme of the weekend was the notion that our intuition, what several speakers referred to as our "sixth sense", is one of our greatest resources. They talked about the exhaustion and frustration of being controlled by our ego as compared to the joy and ease of being led by our spirit.

I will be exploring the topic more in depth in the coming weeks but for now, I want you to consider the following:

- How does your intuition speak to you? In feelings, physically ("my gut tells me..."), words ("the little voice in my head..."), symbols, coincidence or serendipitous occurrences, or simply a knowing?

- When does your intuition speak to you? When you are... praying? meditating? in the shower? making an important decision? petting your cat or walking your dog?

- What does your intuition say? "Talk to that person at the meeting", "Turn right here", "Take next Friday off", "write that down!", "quit your job", "cancel that meeting", "change lanes now!" even when those things don't make logical sense to our ego mind?

I have worked hard at developing (look at that ego language, will you?!)... let me try again... I have been more open and ready to listen to my intuition in the last few years. And what a positive and profound difference it has made in my life!

More on this topic soon...